Microsoft’s Cortana is going to war with Google

Don't even think about asking Cortana to search with Google.

The Windows 10 digital assistant won’t even let you search with Google — only Bing is allowed as Microsoft attempts to grab some turf in the search engine battle, according to a Microsoft statement.

In addition, every search will go through the brand new Edge browser as Microsoft seeks to tie its products more closely together. Microsoft insisted in the statement it was doing so to allow people to get more out of search-related features in its products, but certainly the idea of taking some customers from Google couldn’t have hurt.

It remains to be seen how Cortana users will react. Many of them used Cortana to do their searches on Google rather than Bing, and now they won’t be able to. Of course, nothing can stop you from installing other web browsers in Windows and using Google to your heart’s content, but if you like using Cortana, it will certainly make Googling a bit more difficult.

“Unfortunately, as Windows 10 has grown in adoption and usage, we have seen some software programs circumvent the design of Windows 10 and redirect you to search providers that were not designed to work with Cortana,” the statement reads. “The result is a compromised experience that is less reliable and predictable. The continuity of these types of task completion scenarios is disrupted if Cortana can’t depend on Bing as the search provider and Microsoft Edge as the browser. The only way we can confidently deliver this personalized, end-to-end search experience is through the integration of Cortana, Microsoft Edge and Bing – all designed to do more for you.”